have no intention of seeking empty fame

nurses

The waves run high.

remnant generals and soldiers after defeat

Cherish an old broom as if it were a thousand pieces of gold

gang up(stick together;have close relationship)

illiterate(be unable to read and write)

unprincipled fellow(law-breaker; a lawless person)

blossom everywhere(spring up all over the place)

unending changes

afford little or no evidence(cannot be taken as basis for belief)

discredited(unpopular; be contrary to the will of the people)

Full…scale reconstruction is under way

Two dogs strive for a bone,and a third runs away with it.

so must you(so have you; so do you; all the same)

half a pound of one and eight ounces of the other(tweedledum and tweedledee)

change constantly

The changes in human affairs often take freakish forms.

come out oven

change constantly like cloud and wave